Honey Honey
by Susan Bell
Summary: Things happen, regardless of whether or not you planned for them. Robin/Raven. On hiatus until further notice.
1. Potential Breakup Song

Author's Notes: I know a ridiculous amount of time has passed since the original story was written. I sort of fell out of fanfiction for a bit but I've missed it.. As a result, I've been out of the Teen Titans loop for awhile now. I apologize for any incorrect information that doesn't fit into the current storyline. Should you see any discrepancies, please feel free to shoot me an email and I'll update it as soon as I can!

* * *

Honey Honey 

Potential Breakup Song

2008

* * *

Raven was in a foul mood. 

She stood in the kitchen, holding a cup of tea, glowering darkly at it. In her irritation, she had made it far too weak. She briefly considered launching the small cup at the wall, pretending it was Robin's head. It would offer no relief from this festering frustration but it would be immensely satisfying.

"Hey, Raven."

She glanced up, meeting Cyborg's gaze as he leaned across the counter. He and Beast Boy were currently the only other Titans on speaking terms with her. It had been one week since The Event – she classified it as such because she wasn't entirely sure what else to call it – and Robin had not spoken to her or met her eye, despite his assurance that they would discuss the matter. Raven could hardly blame Starfire for wanting to avoid her but for Robin to avoid her as well … there was an ache in her heart as she reflected on her leader's behavior. She knew the emotion well.

Disappointment.

"So, uh, how's it going?" Cyborg asked, rubbing the back of his neck and Raven was forced to rein in her thoughts. For an answer, she shrugged and gently set the cup down beside the sink.

"Talked to Robin lately?"

She jerked, unable to contain her surprise at the question. Her hand hit the cup and promptly sent it over the edge. It hit the ground with a light thud and shattered.

Cyborg stared at it, looking as though he had been expecting that reaction.

"That was my favorite one," Raven observed quietly. A lump had formed in her throat that had nothing to do with the newly broken cup.

"I'm going to assume you haven't spoken with Starfire either," Cyborg said dryly. Raven frowned, pausing in mid-kneel as she bent to retrieve the pieces of her cup.

"No," she affirmed softly.

"Well, you should. She's your friend, Raven. You should have told her about you and Robin," Cyborg lectured. He drew in a deep breath, about to launch into a long winded tirade Raven had no patience for.

"There was nothing to tell her," Raven interrupted furiously, beginning to collect the scattered broken glass. "There's no 'me and Robin.'"

Cyborg blinked several times, taken aback by this admission. Distantly, they heard the faint shattering of a window.

"You really hurt her, you know," he said gently, after a long pause.

The flood of rage and hurt and sorrow Raven had so desperately wanted to keep contained in her the corners of her heart finally burst forth; she flung the bits of cup back onto the floor.

"Oh, she got hurt did she? Well, _I'm sorry, _all right? It wasn't exactly as though I went in there planning for … that to happen!" she snapped. Her voice was high-pitched, desperate and she inwardly cringed at the childish whine in her tone. Upstairs, several more windows exploded.

"Just … get things worked out between the three of you," Cyborg said, raising his hands in surrender. "Beast Boy and I can't keep doing all the work around here – we need you guys."

Raven shut her eyes, leaning against the kitchen cabinets until Cyborg's heavy footfalls faded around the corner.

The past week had been hell.

This week wasn't looking any better.

Fortunately, in the week following The Event, there had only been a single, effortless bank robbery. Starfire had listlessly remained behind; her powers were weakened by the turmoil inside her. So the other four had departed, while Starfire sat on the couch, staring at nothing. The battle should have been much simpler than it was but both Raven and Robin were distracted by each other. Four days after The Event and the two feet that separated them as they waited for the teenaged robbers to appear was as close they had come to each other. Each struggled to avoid the other's eye while simultaneously watching when the other wasn't looking. The whole thing was pathetic, in Cyborg's opinion, as he had most assuredly been about to tell Raven before she'd interrupted him.

When she opened her eyes, as the first of the alarms went off, there was Starfire. The alien princess, for the first time, in the time Raven had known her, was gazing serenely at Raven, her expression carefully blank. Starfire always wore her heart on her sleeve; it was never a difficult task to be able to determine what she was feeling. Sorrow welled inside Raven and she struggled to repress the emotion.

"We are waiting for you to be able to depart," Starfire informed her.

"Starfire –''

"I do not wish to discuss this matter with you," Starfire said sharply, wringing her hands together, managing to appear both furious and regretful. "Ever."

She spun around very quickly, her long hair fanning brilliantly around her. Raven scowled.

_Oh, just peachy._

This week was off to a great start.


	2. Sweet Dance

Honey Honey

Sweet Dance

2008

* * *

The source of the disturbance came from an abandoned chocolate factory that had gone under three years prior. The immense building stood just on the outskirts of the city. The smell of dust and aged chocolate rushed outside as the Titans shoved open the heavy doors. 

"The report didn't say who the intruder was," Robin said quietly, striding quickly into the large room. Starfire hurried after him, her expression anxious.

"Too bad this place shut down," Beast Boy mourned. "It would have been awesome to come here while it was still open." He eyed the immobile conveyor belts, as though hoping they would begin moving, bringing boxes packed full of candy.

"Please," Starfire inquired. She too was watching the machinery, although she seemed much more wary of the silent equipment, "this is the manner in which your chocolate was created?"

"So it's true then." came a ringing voice, before anyone could instruct Starfire on the Earthly ways of candy making. "You are the guardians of this place?"

The Titans tensed, each gazing around the darkened room for the source of the speaker.

"Show yourself!" Robin ordered, carefully drawing out his bo staff. Glancing behind him, he caught Raven's eye. He nodded curtly at her; she glared at him and he gaped at her, apparently flabbergasted by this response.

"No," came the calm reply. "After all, I did not receive an answer to my question. Quite rude, you know."

Cyborg shifted uneasily. The voice was dripping with arrogance, mockery, and contempt, taunting them.

"This is our city," Robin said sharply. "Now tell us what you want."

"Why, you're just children! I knew this was going to be easy but taking your plane will be like … well, like taking candy from a baby."

A figure appeared then, rising up out of the floor. He was tall, cold black eyes surveying them. He would have been very handsome, if not for the nasty smile that danced across his face. He hovered, a few feet above the floor and laughed.

"I do hate to be so clichéd, you know."

Raven expelled a great rush of air, feeling as though she had been punched in the stomach.

"No," she blurted, before she could stop herself , "You're just a myth."

"Ah, my little girl. You are mistaken. I am a_ legend_," he hissed, and raised his hands. A crackling blue ball begin to form in his hands.

"Titans, go!" Robin sang out and the five darted away as the blue ball smashed into the cement floor.

"You will leave now!" Starfire cried, flying above the black-clad man, flinging bolts of green at him. He sprang away, dodging her, but was hit by a charging Beast Boy, who had transformed into a rhinoceros. He grunted and landed a few feet away, blonde hair spilling over his face. When he glanced up, he saw Cyborg standing in front of him, cannon aimed at his face.

"Now, now," the man said and sank into the floor.

He reappeared behind Robin, placing his hands on the boy's back and shooting several blue rays of light, launching the Boy Wonder several feet into the air.

"Robin!" Raven and Starfire cried at the same time. Raven met the gaze of the alien princess but both girls looked away quickly, multitudes of curse words shooting through Raven's mind as she watched Robin sail through the air.

The man, noting the girls' distraction, shot more spitting blue balls at the both of them. Raven crossed her arms, shielding herself, and watching the balls bounce harmless away before darting after Robin. She caught him, gathering him in her arms, the both of them sinking to the ground. There was a crash from behind Raven that was Starfire hitting the ground.

"Ow," Robin muttered, squinting around and smiling dopily when he saw Raven.. There were several more heavy thuds and what sounded suspiciously like a small explosion but Raven disregarded it, her attention on Robin.

"Oh. Uh, thanks," he said, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Of course," Raven replied, her hands falling into her lap. The familiar black shield sprung up around them as piece of machinery came soaring toward them; the metal rebounded off and clattered to the ground.

"Raven - ''Robin began, but stopped when Raven sprang to her feet.

"The first time you've spoken my name in a week, Robin," she said, "and we're in the middle of a battle."

He ducked his head, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, I just -''

"No," she said, beginning to fly away; he seized her wrist., bringing her back down the ground with him.

"_I'm sorry_," he repeated insistently, drawing her close. The piece of equipment to their right suddenly exploded. Raven wasn't entirely sure if it had anything to do with their current predicament or …

_God damn it_.

She reached up, gently touching his cheek, before wrenching herself free and returning to the battle.

It was not going well. Beast Boy was not pleased. They _always_ won … but they were currently getting their butts kicked.

Ugh. Totally lame.

He morphed into a Tyrannosaurus, with Cyborg perched on the edge of his snout, firing off several blasts from his arm. Whoever this guy they were fighting was, though, excelled at combat. He deflected Cyborg's fire easily enough and simply melded with the ground when Beast Boy trampled past. Starfire darted around in mid-air, hurling star bolt after star bolt. She was successful, more often than not, but he seemed to shrug off the blows. Raven hurled pieces of conveyor belt,, boxes, anything within her range. The man glanced up, smirking at Raven, and received a kick to the head from Robin as a reward.

"Enough!" he cried, throwing his hands up above his hands. A sky-blue half-circle blossomed from the palms of his hands, encasing him. "You try my patience, mortals."

"As if," Beast Boy quipped haughtily. "Bad guys always say that when they lose."

The man disregarded the changeling, turning his gaze instead to Raven.

"You, little bird, truly are your father's daughter."

And then he was gone, with a long, cheerless laugh ringing in their ears.

---

"What. The. _Hell_." Beast Boy flopped miserably onto their living room couch, one arm draped over his eyes. "Who _was_ that guy?"

As Raven had partly expected, the other three Titans turned expectant eyes on her.

"Not a 'who' but a 'what,'" she said, frowning as she struggled to recall the story. "It was a book I read years ago. About a guardians of the portals, between various worlds. They were supposed to be all-powerful, immortal, eternal sentinels to protect the evils of the lower worlds from getting through."

"And what happened?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"According to the legend," Raven continued, "they all died. Killed by one of their own, who betrayed them. It's said that he made an agreement with Trigon, that he murdered his brothers and sisters so that he could travel freely between the worlds and one by one, they all would submit to him."

"Heavy," Beast Boy breathed, sitting up and examining Raven thoughtfully as he stroked his chin.

"It was just a legend, though. It wasn't supposed to have actually happened," Raven groaned, examining her palm, convinced she would see the mark of Trigon etched onto her skin. Although her flesh was unmarked, she still felt a nervous twisting in her stomach.

Then again, Robin had moved awfully close to her since the start of the conversation … she swallowed hard.

"So what's his name?" Cyborg asked.

"Cadric. His name is Cadric."

"So, we simply need to destroy the Cadric and all will be well!" Starfire piped up, her optimistic smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"We can handle it. Trigon's already been defeated," Robin said, placing a hand on Raven's shoulder. "This guy can't be much worse."

"I think the _incarnation of all evil_ is a lot worse," Beast Boy quickly agreed.

"And here I'd hoped we were done with all of this end of the world nonsense," Raven said dryly.


	3. Super Music Maker

Honey Honey

Super Music Maker

2008

* * *

The following morning dawned with an overhang of rolling grey clouds and a light drifting fog. Raven stood at the window of her room, one hand pressed lightly to the cold glass. The majority of Jump City was still sleeping, at this early hour; the fog encased the city, blanketing it until the sun was finally able to free itself from behind the clouds and burn away the haze. She sighed, watching as a few cars drove slowly down the unclogged streets of the precious city. 

Cadric would prove to be a difficult fight but she was fairly confident they would be able to defeat him. After all, they had won against Trigon. Logically, she could only assume that Cadric was weaker than Trigon had been, as Cadric had needed the aid of her father. So they didn't have much to worry about.

Right?

Slade briefly flickered through her mind. Uneasily, she recalled that he too had relied on Trigon's power … and they had never beaten Slade. There was that whole falling into the pit of lava episode but he had returned even from that.

Frowning now, she turned away from the large window, scanning her books. She had to have something in here that might help.

---

Robin paced his room in these early morning hours, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes itched with drowsiness but his mind was whirling, denying him a much needed sleep, wondering about the appearance of Cadric and would it could mean for the Titans. He had meant what he had said – he _did_ think they could handle it. They had been through worse, recently.

"_You, little bird, truly are your father's daughter."_

Raven.

He scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose at the thought of her. He had been an idiot, he knew that. But as aware of his idiocy as he was, he couldn't help himself. Kissing Raven had been incredible, perfect. But there was Starfire to consider, as well as the rest of the team. Their fight yesterday had been lacking – Starfire was listless and Raven was distracted.

_Not too distracted to save your sorry ass_, he chided himself. _Stop making shit up. __You__ were distracted by __her_

Irritated, he blew several stray strands of inky-black hair out of his eyes.

He tried to uphold his recent behavior by telling himself it was for the good of the team – how could they be expected to protect their city if they couldn't even resolve a simple situation like this?

In the end, however, there was no justification for it, other than he was simply a moron.

He flung himself face first onto his bed. There was no help for it. He had to talk to her. He would lose her forever if he didn't.

"I apologized," he muttered defensively through a large yawn. "That's … a start."

His eyes slipped shut and he at last allowed himself to be cradled and rocked in sleep's arms.

---

Raven now had the most annoying song stuck in her head. She could only blame Starfire for the pop song endlessly looping through her mind, but some part of her wondered if Starfire would even listen to such a song in the first place.

_Bounce with me bounce no tricks around me, I like your freaky style so let's get up on me. Do me like you just want it, Let me see your sexy body bring it on._

She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, and dropped the book she had been holding unceremoniously onto her floor.

Nothing.

She had poured through every single one of her books on spells, charms, curses, anything she had been able to get her hands on. And none of them had been able to give her any information. Granted, she wasn't entirely sure what, exactly, she was looking for. A small portion of her was afraid that she might have found a useful spell but it would be unsuitable for use, that Cadric would prove to be far too powerful. If only she could remember where she had read the original story …

So, she let the book slip from her hands while she sank onto her bed, burying her face in her hands.

"Ow," groaned the book.

"Oh, hell." She looked up, recognizing the voice at once. Had she been that distracted that she had retrieved him without even realizing it?

_I say a new game just started for us. So don't speak. Don't look down, there are people everywhere. You know what time is it._

Raven decided she would kill Starfire if she ever got back on speaking terms with her.

"Nice to see you too, Raven," Malchior said silkily from his place on the floor.

"Don't get used to it," she snapped, seizing the book.

"You don't sound happy to see me at all," he whined, managing to still sound oddly charming.

"Well, being betrayed and lied to will put a damper on a relationship."

"Oh. And here I thought you just didn't like dragons."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Malchior, tell me the story of Cadric," she said quickly, disregarding his comment in favor of this new line of discussion.

"A fairy tale," Malchior yawned; she had a mental image of Malchior waving his hand imperiously, dismissively.

"No," she argued. "We saw him, yesterday. He had all the same powers as in the story, he asked if we were the guardians of this place, talked about taking over this plane."

"Mmm," Malchior replied in a bored tone, clearly not believing her. "Well, why don't you just seal him away in a _gem_."

She froze at once, clutching the book tightly, her lips parted in an unasked question. Of course he hadn't meant it … he could not have known the significance of the word, of everything that had happened. And yet, the peculiar emphasis on the word troubled her.

The book vibrated weirdly in her hands – she nearly dropped it again before she realized that Malchior was laughing.

"You knew?" she finally gasped out, her mind racing wildly, thoughts of her father flying through her memory.

"Of course I knew!" he said. "Who didn't? Honestly, Raven, you are so slow sometimes."

"You didn't tell me you knew! You should have … you should …" but she trailed off, her vehemence quickly fading, and she turned again to the window. The sun had not yet appeared; the fog had made its exit but the clouds still lorded over the mid-morning sky. The sounds of car horns and police sirens, yells, cheers, and jeers all drifted from the now very awake city and toward the solitary Tower.

"What difference would it have made, if I told you?" Malchior shrewdly interpreted her silence. "If anything, it just made you more attractive. A little girl with the power to destroy the entire planet in a single go. Quite a turn-on." She could almost hear his lips curving into a smile.

"If you knew about my father, you must have known about Cadric," she insisted, slightly disturbed by his last remark.

"Now, my sweet Raven –''

"Don't call me that. I'm not yours and I'm not sweet," she hissed.

"Ah," Malchior chuckled, "Little Raven is not so lonely anymore, is she?"

She was prevented from replying by a sharp knock on her bedroom door. She settled with shooting a scathing look at Malchior before opening her door very slightly.

"Um, hey," Robin said, looking uncharacteristically hesitant. Raven was torn between the equally uncharacteristic urge to melt at the sight of him or the more appropriate impulse to slap the shy smile right off his face.

He cleared his throat, donning his usual determined look. The look he usually had whenever he was steeling himself for something really horrible. A battle with Slade. Suffering through Starfire's cooking. Making amends with Batman after a silly argument. Telling Raven how he felt about her.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked, squinting masked eyes at her.

"Did I give any inclination that any time was a good time?" Raven said coldly.

His lips curved into a devilish grin, clearly remembering their first kiss, and she made a disapproving noise low in her throat, pulling back to slam the door in his face. He grasped her hand, drawing her close to him.

"Raven," he whispered in a husky voice that filled her stomach with pleasant tingles. She couldn't decide between the desire to retain contact and the compulsion to tear herself free. Instead, she simply stared at him.

_Can you try and bounce and quickly become one with me?_

_Come, my baby, I hit your hot spot. I can get on your SL drop top._

And then he kissed her, slowly and thoroughly. She sank against him, welcoming the embrace and reveling in this newfound, but absolutely delightful activity, and just as quickly returned to herself with a resounding crash and shoved him away.

"You can't … you asshole, you can't just ignore me for a week and then expect …" Raven spluttered, retreating into her room.

"Well, it's not like you were exactly forthcoming in your efforts either," Robin snapped for a reply, following her, but he immediately softened. "Raven, I'm sorry. I … don't know. I was being—''

"An idiot?" Raven supplied helpfully, earning a half loathing, half rueful glare.

"You're right. I'm a moron. Raven, I'm so –''

She cut him off by simply wrapping her arms around him, holding him tightly. It was slightly awkward, as though she had never quite gotten the hang of giving hugs but he was pleased by the gesture. Robin put his hands on her shoulders after a moment to look at her. They remained like this for several minutes, grinning like fiends at one another.

Malchior, who loathed being ignored and forgotten, gave a very loud cough. Robin blinked, peering at the book, which was still lying on Raven's bed. His brow furrowed thoughtfully in faint recognition.

"Robin! Oh, so it is you!" Malchior exclaimed cheerily. "I thought it might be, from the way she always talked about you—''

"And that's enough out of you," Raven said, picking him up and preparing him to dump him back into the trunk.

"I taught you so many powerful spells, Raven," Malchior sighed. "Why don't you just use them against your fairy tale villain."

"He's not a fairy tale," Raven said through gritted teeth. "And I'm not using any spells _you_ taught me."

"Honestly, you humans hold _such_ grudges."

"Actually, it's really just human girls," Robin interjected, still frowning at Malchior as though he couldn't quite remember him.

"I like him," Malchior said happily to Raven, who rolled her eyes and dropped Malchior into the trunk. She latched it firmly and then sat on the lid, lifting her amethyst gaze to Robin.

From farther down the hall came the shrieks of a terrified Beast Boy, followed by the roars of an enraged Cyborg.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID?" Cyborg bellowed; Beast Boy's shrieks were abruptly cut off, replaced by the sounds of one being violently throttled.

Robin and Raven exchanged raised eyebrows.

"You're leader," Raven said, smirking at him and folding her arms.

"I'm busy," Robin replied loftily, shutting the door.

* * *

**Notes:** The lyrics throughout this chapter are the English translation of Koda Kumi's song, No Tricks. It was the most irritating and ridiculous song I could think of.

Oh and ... I just read that Malchior was freed in Season 5, which I have seen none of. So I guess we're just pretending season 5 hasn't happened yet.


	4. Bitter

Honey Honey

Bitter

2008

* * *

At the sound of the alarms, the Titans had gathered in the living room. The screen in front of them was lit up with three separate locations – a bank, a jewelry store and – 

"A mattress store?" Beast Boy gaped, scratching his head.

"Hey, mattresses are expensive," Raven said, folding her arms over her chest and turning expectantly to Robin. The rest of the team turned to look at Robin too, who was running a hand through his spiky hair.

"We split up," he announced. "Beast Boy and Cyborg, you hit up the mattress store. We don't have any information on who's broken into these places, so be careful. Raven, you and …"

He trailed off, doubt flickering briefly across his face as his gaze met Raven's. She knew who he wanted to pair her with. It wasn't out of any desire to be alone together, because Robin was nothing like that when on a mission, but because he was worried – he wanted to protect her and she was both exasperated and touched. But Trigon was dead and Cadric would prove to be no threat. He needn't worry about her any more.

"Raven and I shall investigate the jewelry," Starfire spoke up softly. Robin nodded solemnly, managing to contain his surprise. Beast Boy shot Starfire an unusually shrewd look. Her hands were loosely clasped and her shoulders were slumped just slightly but she was smiling brightly enough.

"Okay," Robin said, firmly punching one of his fists into his open palm, "move out, Titans."

---

The clouds that ruled the morning sky had darkened and appeared to droop somewhat, burdened by the rain they carried in their bellies. Raven's upper lip curled as she examined the afternoon sky.

She loathed getting wet.

Robin sped off on his bike, smiling gently at Raven before he left. Her stomach surprised her by flipping itself over in several excited loops. Cyborg and Beast Boy clambered into the T-car and were quickly out of sight. Raven and Starfire exchanged nods before Raven drew up her cowl and the girls took to the air.

"You do not think the Cadric is behind this, do you?" Starfire asked as they flew along.

"I don't know," Raven said, glancing quickly at the alien girl. She was determinedly not looking at Raven but there was a resigned, anxious air about her that made Raven feel slightly queasy.

"I believe we shall victorious in the battle against him," Starfire continued.

"Yeah," Raven agreed and could think of nothing better to add. They continued on in silence for several more minutes before arriving at the jewelry store. The windows of the quaint little building had been smashed in but the alarms were no longer sounding off. The inside of the store was completely dark. Raven curled her hands into fists, suddenly apprehensive. Starfire's brilliant green eyes were narrowed thoughtfully as she surveyed the darkened building.

"Should there not be more …"she trailed off, sighing hopelessly, at a loss for the right word.

"Activity? Bad guys? Lights?" Raven suggested, tugging her cloak tighter around her as she strode forward. Starfire hesitated for a moment but followed, her hands aglow with green light.

---

"Man, why don't we have mattresses like these?" Beast Boy moaned, shifting into a dog and curling up onto a mattress. Cyborg glared at him.

"Get up," he ordered. "We don't know that this place is entirely clean yet."

Beast Boy let out a long suffering sigh, resuming his normal form but he remained seated on the mattress, glaring petulantly at Cyborg. Cyborg ignored the pointed stare and turned to address the communicator on his wrist.

"Robin, looks like everything's all clear here."

Robin's worried face appeared on the screen – he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"There's nothing here, either. But I haven't heard from Raven or Starfire," he said.

"False alarm?" Cyborg suggested. Beast Boy leaned forward, raptly listening to the conversation.

"Fat chance of three false alarms at the same time," Robin disagreed. "No … something's up."

His gaze flickered briefly to something off the screen and his face seemed to drain of color at whatever he saw.

"Oh … no …" he whispered breathlessly.

"Robin?"

"Cyborg," Robin's voice was strained, tense. "Get to Starfire and Raven. Make sure Raven's okay."

"What about you?" Cyborg demanded of his leader.

"I'll be fine," Robin replied firmly, his jaw set, and snapped his communicator shut.

---

Raven and Starfire entered the jewelry store, gazing around intently. Their initial inspection of the place found it to be quite deserted, save for the two of them. The apparent absence of any sort of burglar did not, however, to quell the rising uneasy in Raven's stomach.

"Perhaps we should check in with the others," Starfire suggested in a tense whisper.

Raven flipped open her communicator but was startled into dropping it by a sudden clatter from behind them. Starfire immediately raised one of her glowing hands; the fallen communicator lay forgotten on the floor as Raven brought herself several inches above the ground.

They emerged then, from behind the counters Starfire had just checked. Starfire sucked in a rush of air as the first of them came into light. There were about six of them, all seeming much bigger than the small jewelry store should have allowed - tall, thick frames, with decidedly small, bald, rounded heads.

They were also faceless.

"Go," Raven whispered to Starfire and launched herself toward the approaching creatures. In the story, it had said that Cadric summoned minions from one of the other worlds – creatures that thrived purely on hate and violence.

They poured out from behind the counter, much more than six now, streaming toward Raven and Starfire. Raven hurriedly launched pieces of the counter at them as Starfire darted forwarded, flinging her green bolts. Raven was surprised – and highly annoyed – when she observed the counter come within inches of the faceless monsters and clatter harmless to the ground, her dark energy dissipated into the air. Starfire seemed to be having much more success – each of her bolts hit the creatures with tremendous force. They snarled and hissed in muffled voices but proceeded without a second glance at Starfire, their shuffling feet carrying them toward Raven. She threw up her dark shield and was again annoyed when a large fist pierced through and hit her squarely in the jaw; she flew several feet through the air and collided with a heavy thud against the wall.

_Excellent._

She got slowly to her feet, shaking her head to clear the sudden ringing in her ears. Starfire seemed not to have noticed Raven's uselessness in this battle – she was flying around, hurling green light at anything she saw. Raven smiled slightly at the enthusiasm of the alien before thoughtfully examining the onslaught of faceless things before her.

There was no help for it. Her magic was useless.

She had never been one to excel at hand to hand combat – she relied almost entirely on the use of her dark powers. But she had tried to make an effort over the past few months to try out Robin's obstacle course and training room. It wasn't very hard, she decided, as she neatly ducked another immense fist and responded with a sharp kick in the thing's abdomen, but this wasn't an activity she particularly enjoyed, nor was an avenue of interest she was likely to pursue. She thought briefly of Robin but he was almost certainly better off in a situation like this than she was.

But he probably wouldn't do so well if there were as many at the bank as there were crammed into this jewelry store.

Raven paused, distracted for the moment as she focused on Robin, trying to determine if he was all right. She regretted this stupid course of action almost immediately, when she was seized from behind, a thick arm pulled tight against her throat. Reacting entirely by instinct, her entire body blazed with the black energy that almost always meant impending death. The thing holding her merely rumbled in its chest, low, rolling chuckles. She twisted and saw that a couple more had also grabbed hold of Starfire – one held her by the throat and another held her hands pinned. Her eyes glowed and several green beams went wild, blowing away a good portion of the wall but leaving the things relatively unharmed. Starfire struggled for a moment longer before a scowl crossed her normally cheerful face. She cried out, a ball of green exploding from her, taking out the faceless things and the top half of the jewelry store. Raven was pulled several feet before her captor finally let go; she crumpled to the ground and rubbed her neck, surveying the wrecked remains of the store.

_No wonder everyone hates superheroes._

Starfire rushed over, kneeling next to the dark empath and gently touching Raven's shoulder. The simple gesture jolted Raven – Starfire's anger and frustration toward Raven had all but melted away, replaced by a deep concern for her fellow teammate. Or maybe she had only hide away the emotions for the time being; Raven didn't know or much care. She was grateful for the distress Starfire exhibited on her behalf, although it made Raven slightly uncomfortable with guilt. Still, it was nice to be fussed over.

"I am sorry for my recent behavior," Starfire sighed at length. "It was not the fault of you or Robin. Perhaps I was overcome with … the jealousy."

Raven stared. She could think of many a time when she had been jealous of Starfire … but had never imagined it would be the other way around. She strived to come up with a suitable response but she could only gape dumbly.

The first splat of water hit her right under the eye and brought her out of her daze. She glanced around but the faceless men seemed to be gone. Starfire was also squinting and examining the ruined store.

"Starfire," Raven said, "I'm sorry. I never wanted to … hurt you."

Starfire turned a mildly perplexed gaze on Raven but she said nothing.

"So, do you think we could, um …" Raven shifted awkwardly, "do you think we could still be friends?"

Asking the question had been painful enough – Starfire's fierce hug only served to exacerbate it. The alien princess beamed and nodded.

"May we be friends forever more!" she cried, pulling slightly away from Raven. "I do not blame you. Perhaps it is my fault, for not acting sooner. However, I propose that we celebrate with the traditional Tamarainian festival of Blorqnog, in which –''

"Now's probably not the best time for discussing that," Raven interrupted quickly, as several more fat drops of water landed on her head. Starfire cheerfully glanced up to examine the stormy sky.

"My people would have considered this a sign of luck," she said, holding out a palm.

"And I consider it a sign to get the hell out of here," Raven replied, tugging her cowl over her head again and getting to her feet. And then there was a squeal of tires and Cyborg was exclaiming over the state of the jewelry store while Beast Boy declare his awe and admiration and disappointment he could not have seen what was sure to have been "a totally rad explosion!". Severely irritated by the now steady fall of rain and by Beast Boy's loud exclamations, Raven glared at Cyborg.

"What happened to the mattress store? Where's Robin?" she demanded.

"He told us to meet up with you. The mattress store was clean," Cyborg replied evenly.

"This was also of the clean upon our arrival," Starfire interjected, waving her hand around. "And then there were intruders and I … had to take drastic measures."

"That's a bit of an understatement, Starfire," Raven said dryly.

Cyborg frowned thoughtfully, looking from Raven, who was glowering heavily and trying to suppress anxious feelings about Robin, to Starfire, who was chirping merrily about the rain and the upcoming celebration, before speaking.

"Let's go find Robin."

* * *

** A/N: **I suck at Starfire dialog. 


End file.
